News Brief by Samantha Fine
Chronic stress can arise from
recurring pain, post-traumatic memories, unemployment, family tension, poverty,
child abuse or even residence in a dangerous neighborhood. With constant stress,
health risks, such as those of heart attacks, strokes, infections, and asthma, increase significantly. Only in the past two decades have scientists been able to prove the
dangers of chronic stress. In a study conducted by British researchers,
thousands of male British citizens were examined. They found that the men in
the more stressful jobs smoked more, had higher blood pressure, exercised less, and were more likely to die of heart problems than men in less stressful positions.
Other research has shown that
certain jobs, such as those of police officers, can create greater health risks. Officers are
21 times more likely to die of a heart attack when in an altercation with a
suspect. Furthermore, a high stress
personality can also lead to health problems. In a study conducted at San
Carlos University in Madrid, 150 adults who had survived a stroke were given a
personality survey and were found to score high on having Type A behaviors. Everyday
stressors have a major cumulative impact on immune response and can contribute to physical
deterioration. Research has proven that even small wounds take a longer time to
heal when a person is stressed.
Forms of stress can arise in various
ways: from long job hours to feelings of loneliness. John Cacioppo, a social neuroscientist at the
University of Chicago, states that being isolated increases blood pressure, creates a fragmented sleep pattern and diminish one’s overall immunity. A
test in mice with breast cancer showed that stress, created by confining mice
in a small space for two hours a day, increased the likelihood of cancer
spreading throughout the entire body by thirty-fold. Chronic stress wreaks
havoc on the body, yet solutions are still unclear. Although cures such as
self-help, social support and anti-anxiety medications have shown to decrease
stress, treatment varies from person to person. Perhaps the lingering question
is whether cures for chronic stress will become more individualized, focusing
on the stressors that differ depending on the person.
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